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W A T E R E N E R G Y 1 F F E am& RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: December 16, 2011 ITEM NO: 9 SUBJECT: CREATION OF NEW COMMERCIAL ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS ISSUE: That the Board of Public Utilities consider approval of the creation and funding of new commercial energy and water efficiency programs. RECOMMENDATIONS: That the Board of Public Utilities recommend that the City Council: 1. Approve the creation of the Small Business Energy and Water Efficiency Direct Installation program and its funding of$350,000 for Fiscal Year 2011-12; 2. Approve the creation of the Commercial High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting Retrofit program and its funding of$100,000 for Fiscal Year 2011-12; 3. Approve the creation of the Commercial Weatherization program and its funding of $100,000 for Fiscal Year 2011-12; and 4. Approve the creation of the Commercial Waterwise Landscaping Program and its funding of $100,000 for Fiscal Year 2011-12. BACKGROUND: In September 2006, the California Legislature signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2021 requiring publicly owned electric utilities to identify, target, and achieve all potentially cost-effective electricity savings. In November 2009, the Governor and State Legislature approved a comprehensive water package including Senate Bill (SB) X7-7, mandating urban water suppliers to lower per capita water usage 20% by the year 2020. Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) currently offers a wide variety of energy and water conservation rebate programs in an effort to achieve the mandated goals of AB 2021 and SB X7-7. Per stated mandates, RPU has adopted an aggressive energy efficiency goal equivalent to 1% of retail electric sales. In Fiscal Year 2010-11, commercial customers saved over 15.5 million kilowatt hours of energy utilizing RPU energy efficiency programs. Although commercial electric customers are only 10% of RPU's total customer base, they account for 65% of the City's total electric load. In the past, small business direct installation programs, as well as high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting replacement incentives have been successfully offered to commercial customers on a pilot basis. The results of the pilot programs have been very positive in terms of both customers' response and significant kWh savings. To further RPU's efforts toward compliance with efficiency mandates, staff has identified and recommends the creation of a number of new energy and water efficiency programs targeted at all commercial customer segments in order to achieve large kilowatt (kWh) and per 100 cubic feet (CCF) savings. The proposed programs are as follows: